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Race, Ethnicity, and the Changing Context of Childbearing in the United States

Race, Ethnicity, and the Changing Context of Childbearing in the United States In what ways do childbearing patterns in the contemporary United States vary for white, black, and Hispanic women? Why do these differences exist? Although completed family size is currently similar for white and black women, and only modestly larger for Hispanic women, we highlight persistent differences across groups with respect to the timing of childbearing, the relationship context of childbearing, and the extent to which births are intended. We next evaluate key explanations for these differences. Guided by a proximate determinants approach, we focus here on patterns of sexual activity, contraceptive use, and postconception outcomes such as abortion and changes in mothers' relationship status. We find contraceptive use to be a particularly important contributor to racial and ethnic differences in childbearing, yet reasons for varying contraception use itself remain insufficiently understood. We end by reflecting on promising directions for further research. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Annual Review of Sociology Annual Reviews

Race, Ethnicity, and the Changing Context of Childbearing in the United States

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References (90)

Publisher
Annual Reviews
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved
ISSN
0360-0572
eISSN
1545-2115
DOI
10.1146/annurev-soc-071913-043342
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In what ways do childbearing patterns in the contemporary United States vary for white, black, and Hispanic women? Why do these differences exist? Although completed family size is currently similar for white and black women, and only modestly larger for Hispanic women, we highlight persistent differences across groups with respect to the timing of childbearing, the relationship context of childbearing, and the extent to which births are intended. We next evaluate key explanations for these differences. Guided by a proximate determinants approach, we focus here on patterns of sexual activity, contraceptive use, and postconception outcomes such as abortion and changes in mothers' relationship status. We find contraceptive use to be a particularly important contributor to racial and ethnic differences in childbearing, yet reasons for varying contraception use itself remain insufficiently understood. We end by reflecting on promising directions for further research.

Journal

Annual Review of SociologyAnnual Reviews

Published: Jul 30, 2014

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